Research Guides
- University of Washington Libraries
- Library Guides
- UW Libraries
- China Studies
- Digital Archives, Multi-Format Collections, Images
China Studies: Digital Archives, Multi-Format Collections, Images
Research guide on China and Chinese language studies resources.
Pre-1949
- Modern History Data Platform 抗日战争与近代中日关系文献数据平台 [Data Platform for Documents on the War of Resistance against Japan and Modern Sino-Japanese Relations]An open access database providing a large number of books, newspapers, and magazines, and a smaller number of archival documents, images, and audiovisual materials, mostly from the first half of the 20th century. Materials relate to many topics, not just the second Sino-Japanese War and modern Sino-Japanese relations. It includes many literary works from the period. Individual registration is required to download materials (as JPG files). Some types of sources are searchable by tables of contents; none support full-text search.
- Modern History Databases (MHDB) 近代史數位資料庫Combines 18 databases of historical and literary documents and publications from the Qing to Rebublican periods. Produced by the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei. Individual registration is required, often separately for the various constituent databases.
- Nei ge da ku dang an 內閣大庫檔案 (Grand Secretariat Archives) This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text facsimile images of documents originally stored at the Qing dynasty’s (1644-1912) Grand Secretariat, but now housed in Taipei at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. The collection includes over 4,000 documents from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and over 300,000 from the Qing. They are valuable sources for the study of late imperial Chinese institutional, social, and economic history. Documents are searchable by metadata such as document title, creator’s name and office, date, and abstract; but not by full-text.
Urban History
- Hong Kong Government Reports Online 1841-1942A full-text image database providing online access to pre-World War II issues of four major government publications, namely, Administrative Report, Hong Kong Sessional Papers, Hong Kong Hansard and Hong Kong Government Gazette. It contains a wide range of information, such as official notifications, proceedings of the Legislative Council, statistics, and reports of government departments and special committees, which are essential to students and scholars in conducting research on Hong Kong.
- Policing the Shanghai International Settlement, 1894-1945 This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Records of the British-run municipal police force based in Shanghai; includes translated newsclippings. (Gale Archives Unbound)
- Virtual Cities ProjectA series of collections of historical maps, images, and documents relating to various cities (mostly from the first half of the 20th century, though with some earlier or later materials). Cities include Beijing/Beiping, Hankou, Saigon, Shanghai, Suzhou, Tianjin, and Wenzhou.
Social History
- China Families"On this site you can find a growing body of information about men and women of many different nationalities, professions and ages, who lived and worked in China between the 1850s and 1940s. These records have been drawn from government department lists, legal and diplomatic records, cemetery lists, and during research undertaken for a number of projects on the history of modern China and of the foreign relations of China." Allows searching of 60,000 individuals by name. The platform is directed by Robert Bickers and hosted by the University of Bristol.
Manchukuo (1932-1945)
- Chinese Posters in Harvard-Yenching Manchukuo CollectionThe Harvard-Yenching Library's digital collection of propaganda posters from Manchukuo, the imperial Japanese puppet state established in Manchuria (northeast China) from 1932 to 1945.
- Linked Archive of Asian PostcardsCombines the postcards collections of Lafayette College, Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and the Harvard-Yenching Library.
- Manchukuo Maps (Harvard-Yenching Library)Digital historical maps of Manchukuo.
Republic of China (ROC & Taiwan), 1912-present
- Digital Taiwan 典藏台湾Diverse collections of documents and images on historical, cultural, and institutional topics relating to Taiwan's past and present. Available in Chinese and English (click "English" in top right corner).
- Modern History Databases (MHDB) 近代史數位資料庫Combines 18 databases of historical and literary documents and publications from the Qing to Rebublican periods. Produced by the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei. Individual registration is required, often separately for the various constituent databases.
- National Central Library Gazette Online 政府公報資訊網Public communiques from various Republic of China (Taiwan) government departments.
- Zhonghua minguo zhengfu guanzhi ziliaoku 中華民國政府官職資料庫 [Database of government posts of the Republic of China]Searchable by person's name or keyword, this database provides facsimiles of original documents announcing ROC governmental personnel changes from 1912 to the present. Searches for individuals also yield timelines of their career appointments.
People's Republic of China (PRC), 1949-present
- Databases on the history of contemporary Chinese political movements This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This series includes four databases of primary sources and archival materials such as Chinese Communist Party internal documents, representing the history of political movements since 1949.
1. 中国文化大革命文库 = Chinese Cultural Revolution database
This database contains original documents related to the Chinese Cultural Revolution including CCP notices, instructions, proclamations, speeches and major media commentaries with detailed citations; comprises first hand sources.
2. 中国大跃进--大饥荒数据库, 1958-1962 = Chinese great leap forward and great famine database, 1958-1962.
This database contains more than 7,000 documents of CCP directives, bulletins, internal reports, officials' speeches, and major media commentaries with detailed citations, and covers a larger context of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine with inclusion of documents on such policies and campaigns as the state monopoly on grain purchase and marketing, the Collectivization of Agriculture, the Campaign to Eliminate Counterrevolutionaries, the Great Debate on "Red and Expert," the "Dual-Antis" Campaign, the Campaign to "Open One's Heart to the Party," and the Campaign to "Pull Out White Flags and Erect Red Flags."
3. 中国反右运动数据库, 1957- The Chinese Anti‐Rightist Campaign
This database contains primary sources pertaining to the Anti-Rightist Campaign, including government documents, directives, bulletins, speeches by Mao Zedong and other officials, major newspaper and magazine editorials, published "Rightist" views and their denunciations, and original archives.
4. 中国五十年代初中期的政治运动数据库:从土地改革到公私合营, 1949-1956 = Database of the Chinese Political Campaigns in the 1950s: From Land Reform to State-Private Partnership, 1949-1956.
This database contains more than 9,000 documents related to the Chinese political campaigns in the 1950s including CCP directives, bulletins, internal reports, officials' speeches, and major media commentaries with detailed citations.
Government Documents
- Archive of the the State Council, PRCProvides national and provincial level documents from the State Council, which oversees government (as opposed to Party) organs. Includes selected laws and regulations, white papers, statistics, ministry documents, the State Council Gazette, and official press reports. Available in English and Chinese versions. Chronological coverage and search functions are limited.
- Chinese Foreign Policy DatabaseCurating 1000s of documents from Chinese and international archives, this Wilson Center database offers insights into China’s foreign policy since 1949 and its relationship to ideology, revolution, the economy, and traditional Chinese culture.
- State Archives Administration of the People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国国家档案局Provides a limited selection of PRC State and Party historical documents, organized into thematic collections.
Society
- China's Cultural Revolution in Memories: The CR/10 ProjectContains video interviews with people who experienced China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), as well as with young Chinese people born after the Cultural Revolution, who discuss how they learned of this historical incident. Most of the interviews were collected in the United States, while others were recorded in China, Canada, or elsewhere. Collection of interviews began in 2015 and continues to the present. Created by the University of Pittsburgh.
- Chinese Pamphlets 連環畫Digitized collection of mass education materials from Hong Kong and mainland China, especially Shanghai, from 1947 to 1954. Features cartoon books, pamphlets, postcards and magazines on topics such as foreign threats to Chinese security, Chinese relations with the Soviet Union, industrial and agricultural production, and marriage reform, produced by both Nationalist and Communist supporters. Provided by the Center for Research Libraries.
- Chinese Posters: Gallery of Chinese Propaganda PostersProvides digital images of propaganda posters from the 1920s to the present, with a focus on the PRC. Includes 200 posters from the collections of the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, and Stefan R. Landsberger (University of Amsterdam, Leiden University). This site replaces the earlier "Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages."
- Cultural Revolution in Images: Caricature-Posters from Guangzhou 1966-1977 漫画中的文化大革命：广州的讽刺宣传画1966-1977This collection showcases the 216 original posters from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Library. The posters are divided into two groups: Red Guards’ posters dated between 1966-1967; and images produced against the Gang of Four dated between 1976-1977.
- Databases on the history of contemporary Chinese political movements This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Largest online database for the study of the Cultural Revolution. Primary source documents including CCP notices, instructions, proclamations, speeches and major media commentaries with detailed citations.
- Resources for Historical Research on the People's Republic of ChinaWiki-based repository of annotated resource links, including to books, databases, websites, and reviews of physical archives.
Taiwan
- Digital Taiwan 典藏台湾Diverse collections of documents and images on historical, cultural, and institutional topics relating to Taiwan's past and present. Available in Chinese and English (click "English" in top right corner).
Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Government Reports Online 1841-1942A full-text image database providing online access to pre-World War II issues of four major government publications, namely, Administrative Report, Hong Kong Sessional Papers, Hong Kong Hansard and Hong Kong Government Gazette. It contains a wide range of information, such as official notifications, proceedings of the Legislative Council, statistics, and reports of government departments and special committees, which are essential to students and scholars in conducting research on Hong Kong.
- HKUL Digital InitiativesThe University of Hong Kong Libraries through its digitization projects, has opened up online access to local collections originally in print format only. Open access collections include China Through Western Eyes, Fang Yim-Fen’s Film Song Manuscripts, Flora Sinensis, Frank Fischbeck Collection, HKU School of Chinese Lecture Series, HKUL eBooks, Hong Kong and the West until 1860, Hong Kong Heritage Society Archives, Hong Kong Image Database, Hong Kong Tourism Board Collection, Music Manuscripts of LAI Cho-tin, Plague Pandemic in Manchuria, Sir John Newell Jordan, 1852-1925, HKU Fung Ping Shan Library Wooden-Fish Books, and other partnered projects.
- CUHKL Digital RepositoryThe Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Digital Repository is a one-stop repository for accessing all the publicly available digital content created and maintained by the CUHK Library. The Library has now built a substantial mass of millions of digital files in different areas ranging from literature, culture, arts, politics, society and religion and different formats including rare/semi rare books, journal articles, correspondences and manuscripts, oracle bones, photos, and audio-visual files.
- Tung Wah Museum Archives 東華三院文物館檔案Tung Wah Group of Hospitals archives of early Chinese community in Hong Kong: Coffin Home Archives of records 1910s-1970s, Hospital Yearbooks 1873-1910 (Zheng xin lu), Monthly publications 1947-1950 , and historical photos.
Religion, Local Society
- Center for Research on Local Historical Documents 民間歷史文獻研究中心The website of this Xiamen University research center provides research materials relating to local history, mainly secondary scholarship in the form of book chapters and journal articles.
- NTU Digital Library of Buddhist Studies 臺大佛學數位圖書館Provides full-text Buddhist bibliographies, journal articles, scriptures and other sources, in 45 languages.
Chinese Language Materials outside China
- Context Discovery System for Lidaibao'an 歷代寶案服務分析系統Lidai bao'an/Rekidai Hōan 歷代寶案 is a collection of 15th-19th century Chinese language diplomatic documents from the kingdom of Ryukyu/Liuqiu 琉球 (centered on Okinawa Island). This database is based mainly on the 15 volume edition published by the National Taiwan University, supplemented by an edition published in Okinawa. Created by National Taiwan University.
Digital Image Collections
China/East Asia
- Chinese Christian Posters 基督徒海報Over 600 posters used in China for Christian proselytization from the early 20th century to the early Mao era. Curated by the Center for Global Christianity & Mission.
- Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNNR)The Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) was an organization administered by the Republic of China to distribute relief aid from 1945 to 1947. It was preceded by the China Mission of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), established 1943. This is a collection of over 500 images relating to its work, from the official Flickr collection of the United Nations Archives.
- Chinese Posters: Gallery of Chinese Propaganda PostersProvides digital images of propaganda posters from the 1920s to the present, with a focus on the PRC. Includes 200 posters from the collections of the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, and Stefan R. Landsberger (University of Amsterdam, Leiden University). This site replaces the earlier "Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages."
- Historical Photographs of ChinaBased at the University of Bristol, this project "locates, digitises, and publishes online photographs of China held, largely, in private hands outside the country." Makes accessible over 20,000 photographs from private collections; many are copyrighted, but made available for research or educational purposes.
- Image Database to Enhance East Asian StudiesCollections of photographs taken in various parts of East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
- Joseph Rock's ImagesPhotographs taken in the 1920s in Gansu, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet by the botanist, explorer, and cartographer Joseph Rock; also includes maps made by Rock.
- Lafayette East Asia Image CollectionAn open-access archive of digitized photographs, negatives, postcards, rare books and slides documenting the history of imperial Japan (1868-1945), its Asian empire (1895-1945), and occupied Japan (1947-52). Includes images of Taiwan, Japan, China, Korea, Manchuria, and Indonesia.
- Sidney D. Gamble Photographs CollectionPhotographs taken by the sociologist and China scholar Sidney D. Gamble (1890-1968) in China between 1908 and 1932. Subjects include urban and rural life, public events, architecture, religious statuary, and the countryside. Most images were never published or exhibited during his lifetime.
General (including China/East Asia)
- Artstor This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Search over one million digital images in the fields of the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences.
Beginning August 1st, 2024, ARTstor will go away and content will be available exclusively at JSTOR. - JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Beneath the main search box, click "Search for images". - UW Image Bank This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Digital images of art, architecture, and cultural and historical materials
Miscellaneous
- Harvard Library Chinese Digitization ProjectsIncludes all 4,200 titles (53,000 stitch-bound volumes) of the Harvard-Yenching Library's Chinese Rare Book Collection, among other collections.
Guides to Physical Archives
- Fresh from the ArchivesThis section of the Dissertation Reviews website features researchers' user reviews of archives and distinctive collections from around the world, including several in China.